Takeaways
- The PocketGuard app is a highly detailed mobile and web-based budgeting app.
- PocketGuard has a monthly recurring fee of $12.99 or an annual fee of $74.99.
- PocketGuard is available for download on the App Store or Google Play.
- PocketGuard offers a lifetime membership option once you download the app.
- The PocketGuard app is a relatively inexpensive option for a deep dive into your finances.
Overall App Review
Best for: Moderate to serious budgeters ready to cut costs
Favorite feature: PocketGuard’s “In Your Pocket” feature serves as a de facto discretionary income tracker, highlighting the amount of money available after bills, goals, and other payments.
Why we like it: The PocketGuard Budgeting App is one of the best apps to dive into your monthly personal finance data. The app highlights your net worth, offers subscription cancellation recommendations, and keeps a real-time pulse on your financial goals.
The PocketGuard app makes our Best Budgeting Apps list for its intuitive interface and real-time snapshot of your finances. It seamlessly links to your bank accounts, credit cards, personal loans, and investment accounts to track your monthly cash flow and offers formerly unseen insights into spending habits. Our team loves the signature “In My Pocket” feature, which showcases how much money you have left after accounting for regular bills, recurring subscriptions, and savings goals.
Take the Next Step:
On PocketGuard’s Website
PocketGuard App
Smart Money Rating: 4.8/5
Best For: Detailed Personal Finance Tracking
Monthly Play: $12.99/month
PocketGuard is the ideal financial companion if you want to track your finances with minimal manual entry. It seems invaluable if you have historically struggled with budgeting but want visibility into your finances. PocketGuard touts its data-driven insights, such as identifying subscriptions that can be canceled or choosing which debts to pay off. PocketGuard reports helping users pay off $90 million in debt.[1]
PocketGuard has become notable in the personal finance world, attracting millions of downloads. That’s why we decided to test it out. Earlier users rated the app, giving it a 4.6 on the App Store and a 4.7 on Google Play.[2][3] To conduct our independent review, we downloaded the iOS version of the PocketGuard app. Here’s what we found.
Read More: 7 Simple Ways to Track Your Monthly Expenses
How PocketGuard Works
PocketGuard works by securely connecting to all your financial accounts. Once connected, the app automatically imports and categorizes your transactions, offering real-time insights into your gross income and spending patterns.
Here is a breakdown of what you need to do:
- Link Financial Accounts - After setting up an account, users can link checking, savings, credit cards, and loan accounts. PocketGuard uses bank-grade encryption to ensure security.
- Set Spending Limits - The app identifies recurring bills and average spending in each category, then sets suggested spending limits.
- Track Transactions Automatically - All spending is automatically categorized, and users can rename or adjust categories as needed.
- Calculate “In My Pocket” Amount - PocketGuard’s unique budgeting feature calculates how much money is left to spend freely after subtracting recurring expenses, goals, and savings.
- Create Custom Budget Categories and Goals - Premium users can create custom budgets and savings goals, such as for vacations, emergency funds, or large purchases.
- Monitor Cash Flow - Users can view their income versus expenses over weekly, monthly, or custom timeframes.
>> Spending too much? Try these 5 Ways to Curb Excessive Spending
Picture Source: PocketGuard Website
How Much Does PocketGuard Cost?
- 7-Day Free Trial: PocketGuard no longer offers a free version, but they do have a 7-day free trial. You can sign up for the yearly subscription, which costs $6.25 per month, or the monthly subscription, which costs $12.99 per month.
- Monthly Membership: For those wanting a month-to-month subscription before committing to the yearly plan, you can subscribe for $12.99 per month, which works out to $155.88 annually. This is billed monthly and gives you access to all the main features.
- Annual Membership: If you're ready to commit to using the PocketGuard app for a year, you can receive a reduced monthly rate by paying $74.99, billed annually. This is $6.25 per month, which is significantly cheaper than the month-to-month membership.
- Lifetime Membership: You don’t have to be on the PocketGuard app for long to get the lifetime membership purchase option. We were served an option to purchase the app for $149.99. Even if you were only going to use the App for a couple of years, this could be a steal for budgeting enthusiasts.
PocketGuard comes with personal finance and budgeting features, including:
- Connect multiple bank accounts
- View “In My Pocket” balance
- Transaction tracking and categorization
- Standard spending limits
- Create and manage custom categories
- Export data in CSV format
- Create unlimited savings goals
- Net worth tracking
- Debt payoff plan
- Cancel subscriptions
- Negotiate lower bills
>> Know Your Net Worth? Try our Net Worth Calculator
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Pros of PocketGuard
1. Simplified Budgeting Experience - The "In My Pocket" feature is beneficial if you want to know what you can safely spend each day without needing to perform any complex or routine math.
2. Strong Security - PocketGuard utilizes 256-bit SSL encryption to keep your financial data secure.
3. Real-Time Tracking - By syncing directly with your financial accounts, PocketGuard offers real-time updates, giving you an accurate picture of your finances at any time.
4. Minimal Setup Required - Unlike more detailed budgeting apps, PocketGuard does much of the heavy lifting for you. It automatically categorizes transactions and suggests budgets based on your habits.
5. Goal Tracking - You can set and monitor custom savings goals, making saving for both short-term and long-term needs easier. PocketGuard account users have saved over $900 million towards their financial goals.[4]
Read Also: 5 Amazing Smart Money Savings Habits to Start Now
Cons of PocketGuard
1. Basic Interface - While PocketGuard’s design is clean, users looking for highly visual dashboards or pie charts may find it overly simplistic. (Read about the Best Budget Apps).
2. Budget-Focused Features - PocketGuard focuses mainly on its budgeting capabilities. You may need a separate app for more robust investment tracking features. (For better investment tracking, we recommend the Empower App).
3. Limited Bill Pay or Forecasting Tools - Unlike some apps, PocketGuard does not allow users to pay bills directly or create long-term forecasts.
PocketGuard Review Methodology
We downloaded the PocketGuard app and tested both the iOS mobile app and the web-based version. We explored the different features using hands-on, real-world testing to gain a better understanding of the user interface, app speed, ease of account opening, and the overall feel of the budgeting platform.
Other Budgeting Apps to Consider
If PocketGuard is not quite what you are looking for, here are some comparable alternatives:
- Empower - Empower combines budgeting with robust investment tracking, offering a complete financial picture. It is best suited for users focused on building wealth. (Read our Empower App Review).
- Quicken - A long-standing name in personal finance, Quicken is ideal for users who prefer desktop-based financial management with many tools. (Read our Quicken App Review).
- YNAB (You Need A Budget) - YNAB utilizes a zero-based budgeting system, assigning every dollar to a specific purpose. It requires more user input but provides deep financial control and planning tools. (Read our YNAB App Review).
- EveryDollar - Created by the Ramsey Solutions team, EveryDollar utilizes a zero-based budgeting method designed for users seeking to eliminate debt and manage their finances proactively. (Read our Everydollar App Review).
- Honeydue - Perfect for couples, Honeydue allows partners to track spending, manage joint accounts, and communicate about shared expenses. (Read our HoneyDue App Review).
Smart Summary
PocketGuard is a budgeting app designed for users who want to track their spending without the hassle of manually updating Excel spreadsheets. The "In My Pocket" feature provides a snapshot of your spending limit at any moment, and its simple interface makes it easy to get started. PocketGuard's features can scale up to rigorously budget every dollar you earn each month or help you identify which costs you can cut.
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(1) PocketGuard. Need a Mint Alternative? Last Accessed May 28, 2025.
(2) App Store. PocketGuard. Last Accessed May 28, 2025.
(3) Google Play. PocketGuard. Last Accessed May 28, 2025.
(4) PocketGuard. PocketGuard vs EveryDollar. PocketGuard. Last Accessed May 28, 2025.
